Rue Paul in Old Montreal is a narrow cobblestoned street lined on both sides with a myriad of restaurants, bars, hotels, courtyards and roof tops. You're sure to find whatever ambiance you're yearning for.

Early on a Saturday evening, the pedestrian area was bustling - even more than usual, as a fireworks competition display was scheduled at the waterfront for 10PM.

Restaurant "hawkers" are at their stations, hoping to entice you into their establishment – the pleasant manager standing outside of "Le Senateur" recognized us from a short conversation earlier in the week – He pointed out that a window seat was becoming available in a few minutes – we succumbed. He ushered us past waiting patrons and he personally cleaned, napped and reset the table for us immediately . Large shutters opened on to the busy street – people watching was fun and interesting and we were happy to be able to hear the jazz band playing across the street.

The menu had four levels of prix-fixed dinners - $22/$27/$32/$39 USD – depending on your choice of five to six entrees in each menu. The $39 menu included lobster. The restaurant has a pleasant and airy feeling – the front room overlooks Rue Paul with baskets of hanging flowers and three large open windows. A long bar area opens to a second large dining area with hanging lamps – this one overlooks a landscaped area – both are pleasant. The back room more quiet….the front more interesting on a warm summer night.

Service was prompt but not rushed on this busy night. Bus boys and waiters were efficient and friendly and even took a few moments for a short conversation. Food was good for the price – tasty, but nothing exotic or gourmet. The cream of vegetable soup was smooth and flavorful – the salad - cold,fresh, crisp and dressed with a tangy mustard vinaigrette. The Chicken Tarragon ($22) served with rice and vegetables was well flavored but tasted as though it had been poached earlier in the day, rather than pan seared just prior to serving. Veal Marsala was plentiful but slightly dry – again leading me to believe that it had been cooked earlier and kept in a warming tray. The veal was served with a baked potato and aldente steamed veggies. Chocolate Mousse was quite good – small chocolate bits to give it texture with a nice consistency to the cream without added gelatin. Wine by the carafe at $24 is a bargain in Montreal and was acceptable for an impromtu meal such as this.

Guests ranged from couples of all ages, small groups of friends and families. There was lots of "buzz" in the restaurant but the noise level was more energetic than annoying. I'm sure that most people were there prior to watching the fireworks.

I would certainly return for a casual dinner on a warm evening, but it wouldn’t be my choice for a romantic dinner or a special occasion. You are made to feel welcomed and comfortable by the entire staff.

On our last evening in Montréal, my friend and I left our hotel and wondered up Rue Saint-Paul looking for an open restaurant for dinner. Many restaurants in Vieux-Montréal are not open on Sunday evening, and those that are were typically fairly empty. After looking at the menus of several places, we settled on Le Senateur, one of the many restaurants on Montréal’s oldest street.

Le Senateur offers a continental menu, with an emphasis on seafood. During our trip, over the first weekend of April, the chef was featuring lobster, with several special lobster entrées available, in addition to the regular menu offerings. The regular menu offers items such as seafood casserole, grilled salmon, chicken, steak, and veal. A wine list is available, although for this meal we chose not to order wine. All entrées at Le Senateur include a choice of soup or salad, coffee, and dessert (choice of fruit salad, cream puff with chocolate sauce, or chocolate mousse – the mousse was not available on the evening of our visit). Prices average around $20-30 CAD ($17-26 USD), which I considered a good value for a full, three course dinner. The total for my friend and I was just over $65 CAD before tip.

I selected the Santa Barbara pasta, a large bowl of linguine tossed with shrimp, salmon, and a light cream sauce. My friend chose the veal Marsala. My dinner was very good, starting with the large, very fresh house salad. The pasta entrée was very tasty, but nothing spectacular. The large entrée was too much for me to finish, and was filled with lots of flavorful salmon and about six large shrimp. My friend reported that has veal had good flavor, but was slightly tough. We both had the cream puff for dessert, which was quite good, and topped with a very rich, dark chocolate sauce. Overall, I’d rate the quality of food as above average, but not exceptional.

While the service at Le Senateur was a little on the slow side, it was very cordial and we never felt like we were being ignored. This is not a restaurant to dine at when you are in a hurry, as the service is more geared toward a lengthy, relaxed dinner. The quiet dining room is dimly lit with votives on each table and small lamps overhead, creating an atmosphere that complements the relaxed service. Soft French-language vocal music was playing in the background. Several tables for two are located along the dining room’s front wall by the windows overlooking Rue Saint-Paul. We sat at one of these tables, and enjoyed the view out onto the sidewalk and into the Place Jacques-Cartier.

Le Senateur is not the finest restaurant in Vieux-Montréal, but it is still a great choice, especially if you desire a very good, yet affordable, dinner served at a relaxed pace. With these expectations, you’ll likely find Le Senateur to be quite enjoyable.

At nightfall, we descended upon Old Port Montreal in search of a good meal and even better atmosphere. After walking a bit up from Place Jacques Cartier, we were almost literally pulled off the street by a desperate manager/owner of a restaurant on our right hand side. Just a note: most of the managers or owners seem to be very desperate for your business, so watch out! The restaurant that my husband and I as well as the manager/owner decided that we ought to eat at was Le Senateur.

The interior walls are painted in a blood red, I guess a somewhat in vogue color, and there are black and white prints of actors of just about every age hanging on the walls. There are small hanging lamps throughout the establishment that supply a little light, which also supplies a large amount of atmosphere and ambience. Our light above our table unfortunately broke midway through our meal and couldn’t be repaired -- that’s okay though; it just added to the romantic atmosphere already present. As like other Montreal restaurants, we found the food on the menu a great bargain, but disappointingly, the wine was just so very expensive. My husband and I both had the seafood casserole, which was simply a full lobster, several shrimp, mussels, and scallops in a rich seafood broth served in a large bowl -- it was $29.95 and also included a salad or soup and coffee. The broth was so delicious that I couldn’t help but dip my food in the broth and the crusty and soft bread served with the meal was delicious. The staff here is very nice and very quick. In fact, right after the management heard my husband spilled some broth on his lap, they were right over helping to clean up and apologizing profusely in a very French manner.

I would recommend this restaurant; however, I probably wouldn’t try it again until much later as I still wish to try the other restaurants in the area.